Cursed
by Kaedephantom
Summary: Danny Fenton is the son of vampire hunters Maddie and Jack. When his parents build a portal to the demon realm and it doesn't work, Danny decides to help fix the portal. But what is the price he must pay? After all, some doors are meant to stay closed.
1. Chapter 1

Cursed

Pain was how this all began, and now it is how this is ending.

I suppose I should back up a bit though…My name is Danny Fenton and I used to be human, but I lost that a year ago. You see, the story all starts with me being an idiot and asking my parents about work.

Now, that probably seems like a normal enough question, but that's just it; my parents aren't normal. My parents are self-proclaimed vampire hunters, and they spend all their time researching creatures that most people don't believe exist. My parents are actually very intelligent, but they're viewed as crackpots. So naturally I was constantly made fun of for coming from a family of nuts. My sister Jazz got it so much better than me, because she was smart, sensible and very pretty. I however, am scrawny, lazy and clueless. Not to mention a klutz, or I was. But back to that in a second.

School had gone by normally, and I spent my day napping, yawning, being stuffed into a trashcan, talking with friends, having my head stuffed into a locker…the usual. Anyway, my parents had been working nonstop for the past few months, and they barely ate or slept while they dedicated all their time to some project. My sister scoffed at them for wasting so much time and intellect on vampires, but I was intrigued. Now, at the time I did not believe in such creatures by any means, but I was still curious about what they were so worked up over.

So after school Sam and Tucker had come over to my house, and my parents weren't down in the basement for once. In fact, my dad was watching football and my mom had baked cookies for us. I was taken aback by the sudden normalcy- something I was not used to- and so I asked them about work. Biggest. Mistake. Ever.

My parents went off onto a rant about all their hard work, the countless hours of blood, sweat and tears that they had poured into this project. I sort of zoned out and all I heard was a vague jumble of voices. But I was snapped out of my trance by the words, "Do you want to see?" I looked up to see my mom smiling eagerly at me. I was about to politely decline the offer before Sam answered for me.

"Of course!" You see, Sam was a goth and she loved the supernatural. While most people found my parents' work crazy, weird or creepy, Sam loved it. She always told me that I was lucky to have such interesting parents, and that hers were way too uptight. If only she knew then how much trouble my parent's work was about to get me in.

My mom's face lit up like a Christmas tree and my dad leapt from his chair and bounded over to us.

"Well then, let's all go to the basement!" My parents hurried to the basement, and I turned and gave an annoyed look at Sam, and Tucker seemed at a loss for words.

"Really Sam? Just _had _to encourage them?" Sam turned her nose up at me.

"It sounds cool! And besides, you should be more supportive, they _are_ your parents."

"Yeah, but you wouldn't be so _supportive_ if all your parents did was manage to embarrass you and get you labeled as a freak. I mean, kids at the school have started calling me Fangs! I don't even believe in the stupid vampires!"

"Vampires aren't stupid." She said stubbornly. "Besides, you didn't even pay attention to your mom! I bet you don't even know what they built!"

"Do too!" judging from the look they both gave me, I didn't convince either one of them. "Okay, maybe I blanked out a little. But what was it?" Sam's eyes lit up excitedly

"A portal!"

"A portal?" I echoed.

"A portal to the demon realm!" she said. Tucker shrugged,

"It does sound kinda cool, dude." I sighed and gave in, knowing I wouldn't win. If Sam and Tucker agreed on something, there was no way to stop them.

"Fine." Then my mother's voice called from downstairs, and so we headed down to the basement. When we reached the bottom of the stairs, we had to carefully navigate our way through narrow shelves and crowded tables. The room was also darker than usual, with only a few candles providing light. I stubbed my toe on a table cluttered with stakes and bottles of colorful liquids. I cursed silently and Tucker laughed at me. I shoved him into a shelf and a heavy leather-bound book fell on his head and he yelped. Sam shook her head and muttered something about boys and their stupidity.

"Danny and Tucker, be careful! Those are old!" My dad warned.

"Whatever." I muttered. We walked over to my parents, who were staring at the floor with pride. My eyebrows came together in confusion and I looked down at the ground. There was a large circle drawn in chalk, with a five-pointed star in the center. My eyes widened as I recognized the symbol.

"Uhhhh…mom, dad…that's a pentagram right? Aren't those things, I don't know, _evil_?" I said.

Sam gave me a look of annoyance.

"Danny, a pentagram is not inherently evil! It's just a way to channel magic."

"Huh." I was still uneasy though as I looked at it. My mom nodded her head

"Yes, Sam is right, sweetheart. We need this in order to open the portal." She pointed to a mirror that was around 8 feet tall, with an ornate gold frame.

"That's the portal?" Tucker asked. "it looks like something you would find in an art museum." My dad chuckled before answering.

"Well legend has it that this mirror belonged to the very first vampire, Vladimir. They say that he disguised the entrance to the demon realm as a mirror, that way it was hard for people to find it."

"In fact," my mother added "the myth about vampires having no reflections is said to originate from this very mirror. When Vladimir sealed the entrance into the mirror, it no longer reflected the faces of demons who looked into it. One day his servant walked into his room, and Vladimir was staring into the mirror- but there was no reflection!" Sam looked absolutely fascinated, but Tucker looked creeped out; he hated horror. I was probably more along the lines of Tucker, but I was used to this by now.

"How did you get the mirror?" Sam asked.

"Through years and years of research! Turns out that some guy named Frederick something had it in his private collection. We managed to buy it off him for a relatively cheap price!" My dad explained.

"How does it work?" I asked. My mom turned and started to explain.

"The pentagram will act as the initiative for opening the portal. Right now it's fully drawn, but all we have to do is light the candle in the center, and it should activate, kinda like a switch." Sam started to lean over the pentagram, but my mother yelped and pushed her back. "Never, _ever_ step into a pentagram. The results could be disastrous!" Sam blushed, probably because she didn't know that despite her expertise with this kind of stuff. My mom's face softened, "It's ok! Jack nearly stepped into the pentagram earlier, when he was eating his yogurt, he was so excited! It happens." She smiled at Sam, and Sam nodded gratefully.

"Are we ready?" Dad yelled.

"No?" Tucker and I said in unison.

"Yes!" Sam and my mom yelped back.

"BONZAI!" My dad yelled. I sighed, women always win. My dad leaned over, very carefully, and gingerly lit the candle in the center. And then…nothing. Absolutely nothing happened.

"Uhhh, is it supposed to being doing something right now?" I asked stupidly. When I didn't get an answer I looked up at my parents, whose faces looked pitiful.

"I didn't work…" My dad said sadly. "I really thought it would work." My mom wiped at her eyes.

"It's fine, Jack. Failure is a part of life. We'll get it one day." But she didn't sound so sure. Sam and Tucker stayed silent, and awkwardness fell on us like a heavy blanket. After several minutes of silence, my mother sighed and broke it. "Why don't we head up and eat dinner? Tucker, Sam, since it's a Friday you're welcome to spend the night." Tucker and Sam nodded and we all walked back upstairs, melancholy weighing down on my parents shoulders. As we shuffled into the kitchen, an idea crossed my mind.

"Hey, mom, dad? Why don't you guys go out tonight? Have fun? You guys could go grab dinner and stay at a hotel. Jazz can watch us!"

"I don't know Danny-" My mother began.

"Wait, I think that's a good idea Maddie! We've been working so hard lately, I think we deserve some stress relief." My dad said.

"Ok…are you guys sure you'll be ok?" All three of us nodded and Jazz said she'd be willing to watch us. My mom smiled, and her and dad went to go pack their bags. Ten minutes later they came back with luggage and said goodbye. My mother made sure that we'd be fine, and Dad said they'd be home in time to make a nice, big breakfast. Then they hurried out the door and into the car. After waving bye, Jazz turned and said

"Alright now, I'm going to go work on my thesis. I'll have my headphones in, so please don't bother me unless it's an emergency." The gathered her books and retreated to her room.

"Well then…what should we do?" Tucker asked. Sam smiled evilly,

"I know exactly what we _need_ to do."

"And what's that?" I asked, mildly curious.

"_You_ need to fix your parents' portal." I laughed, but I stopped when I noticed Sam and Tucker were staring at me.

"Oh you can't be serious?! Me?"

"Yes you," said Tucker. "You're the one who's the most familiar with this kind of stuff." I pointed wildly at Sam.

"She's the goth who loves all things creepy and knows the most about vampires and magic!" I accused.

"Has to be you, bro." he replied.

"Why?!"

"Danny did you see how sad they looked? At least try and see if you notice anything wrong." Sam pleaded. I shook my head in resignation, knowing I had already lost the argument.

"Fine, but only to cheer them up, but I can't guarantee anything" They looked satisfied though, and we headed back down into the dark basement.

"God, this place is creepy." Tucker muttered.

"I dig it." Was Sam's response. We approached the pentagram, and I laid on my stomach so I could get a closer look. My chin was close to the outermost circle, and all the symbols etched into it made my mind swim.

"Guys, I don't even know what any of this stuff means!" I yelled. But I pushed myself back onto my knees and peered at the pentagram. I honestly didn't know what to look for. Everything seemed to either be Latin or a strange symbol. Although…one symbol had caught my eye. It was larger than all the others, shaped liked a blob and smelled strangely of strawberries…_Oh god, _I thought. Did my dad really spill strawberry yogurt onto a pentagram? I slapped my face in disbelief, and turned to Sam and Tucker. "My dad spilled yogurt onto the freaking pentagram!" Sam and Tucker both shook their heads in disbelief.

"Seriously?" Tucker asked. "Try cleaning it off." He said.

"Yeah, but I can't reach it; it's in the center."

"Danny it's fine, it's not working, so nothing will happen." Sam reassured.

"Are you sure?" I asked warily.

"Of course!" She replied.

I took a deep breath, and stepped inside. I closed my eyes, and waited for something to happen, but nothing did. _Seriously, you don't even believe in this stuff_, I reminded myself. I sighed and bent down and wiped at the yogurt with my shirt, careful to not rub any of the writing off. Satisfied with my work, I was about to step out when the candle in the center suddenly flared up. I faltered, and turned to stare at a huge flame.

"What happened?!" I yelled.

"Get out!" Sam yelled. But when I ran to the edge of the circle, by body slammed into an invisible wall. Suddenly the world outside the circle blurred into an indistinguishable mess of colors and shapes, and I couldn't see Sam or Tucker anymore.

"Help!" I screamed. But then terrible laughter erupted behind me, and I turned around slowly. Standing in the heart of the pentagram, was a frightening mass of shadows, shaped into the crude form of a man. It cackled menacingly, and I was at a loss of words.

"Little Daniel Fenton…it seems we finally get to meet. You see, your parents have been trying to bother my brothers and I for years, but who would've thought they would finally do it? And if that isn't great enough already, their only son is the one to open the portal! Isn't that grand?!" It started cackling again, and I finally found my voice.

"What are you? I asked weakly. It looked down at me and his inky features twisted into a grotesque parody of a smile.

"I am the demon Fear. And now that you have opened the portal you must pay the price."

"Price?" I asked.

"Yes, you see, your parents failed to mention that there is a price for opening the door. For a mortal to open the door, they require my assistance. Your parents knew this, so they devised a plan to bind me to this pentagram, so they could cheat their way out of paying. But you, my dear boy, have walked into _my_ territory, and you can't escape until you pay the price." My eyes widened in fear, and I desperately tried clawing my way out, to no avail. "Now let's see…what is the price you'll pay? Your life? Your morals? Your sanity? Soooo many fun choices. Ahh, but I know! How about your humanity? After all, everyone needs a dose of irony in their lives."

"I don't understand!" I replied. The demon's face twisted into a sneer.

"You will soon." And with those words, he disappeared and everything stopped spinning. For a brief moment, everything was calm and I could see Sam and Tucker.

"Danny?" Sam said weakly. And then a wall of agony hit me, and I feel to my knees, screaming. Everything was pain, and my vision was a blinding red. My eyes burned, and my skin felt like it was slowly being cut by knives. My bones ached and my muscles refused to obey me, as I was left flailing. I wanted to say something, but all that came out was a scream. I couldn't see, hear or feel the outside world. And then everything went cold, and I faded into the black.

…..

I awoke to a sharp pain in my mouth, and worried voices were flitting above my head. I was so groggy, and my throat was _so_ dry. I tried asking for something to drink, but I couldn't form any words. All that escaped my lips was a unintelligible mumble. Suddenly the voices stopped.

"Danny!" At the sound of Sam's voice, my eyes flew open and I bolted up. "Danny?" She said, her voice cracking. She was staring at me in horror, but I didn't understand why.

"Will someone get me water, my throat hurts." My words were weak and slurred, but Tucker got up and went to get me some. "Mmm, what happened?" I asked. Tucker was back with the water, God, why did he have to walk so loudly? Every step made my aching head pound.

"Uhhh…what do you remember?" Sam said uneasily. I dipped my head forward and concentrated,

"Shadows, light…and then…pain. A lot of pain." At those words, Sam choked back a sob, and placed her head into her hands.

"Oh Danny, I'm so sorry! This is all my fault!" My head was so jumbled up and confused,

"Huh? What're you talking about?" Tucker looked me in the eye for the first time, and he said

"Danny…you might want to see this" He approached my bed and handed me a mirror. I took it from him, confused by his request. I hesitated a bit, how bad was it if they were acting like this? I sighed and looked into the mirror expecting a horribly disfigured face, but instead I was met with glowing crimson eyes.

AN: I sooooo do not need to be starting another story. I'm really bad about starting stuff and then finishing it, but I had to write this down. I went back over my SoD story, and I just wasn't satisfied with it. This one will have longer chapters and hopefully better writing and pacing. So….yeah.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The mirror fell out of my hand, and off the side of the bed, crashing into a million little fragments.

Red eyes.

I was freaking out, only I couldn't find any words, so I just sat there, silent and trembling.

"Danny?" Sam asked desperately. "Are you ok?" Her voice, scared as it sounded, snapped me out of my trance. I nodded, before taking a deep breath.

"What happened?" I asked softly, my head down. Sam and Tucker gave each other an uneasy glance, before Tucker turned to me.

"We're not exactly sure…after you wiped the pentagram, this huge wall of energy came up, and we couldn't see or hear you anymore. When the wall faded away you screamed and fell. When you looked at us, your eyes were red. Danny, why don't you tell us what happened _inside_ the pentagram?" he pleaded. I looked over to Sam, but she seemed to be avoiding my gaze. _Are my eyes freaking her out that much?_ I thought.

"Well," I began, "after I cleaned off the pentagram, the candle in the middle flared up, and when I tried to escape the pentagram, I slammed into something. But…I wasn't alone."

"What do you mean?" Tucker asked.

"This _thing_ popped up in the middle, he was huge! And he looked like he was made of shadows, it was terrifying. He started laughing, and then…then he mentioned my parents!" I exclaimed, suddenly remembering. "He said that they drew the pentagram, so they could cheat."

"Cheat?" He echoed.

"Yeah, he kept mentioning a 'price'. He said any mortal who opened the portal had to pay him, but my parents cheated. They bound him to the pentagram, so they wouldn't have to pay the price. But then-" I broke off, hesitating to say what happened next.

"Danny…we need to know." He said gently. I nodded before continuing.

"He said _I_ had to pay the price. Since I stepped inside the pentagram, he said I had to pay it. Then he asked me what the price should be, but I couldn't speak, I was so scared." I whispered. "But then he laughed, like something funny had popped into his mind. He said he decided he would take my humanity." But what did he mean by that? I looked over at Sam, and she finally met my eyes.

"Are you ok?" I asked, taking her hand in mine. She jumped at my touch, but didn't pull away.

"You're asking me if _I'm _ok?" I looked at her questioningly. She laughed bitterly, "You're the one who almost died, and you're asking me if I'm ok?! Danny, this is all my fault! Why aren't you mad?"

"Sam-" I began, but I cut off, grabbing my throat.

"What's wrong!" Tucker demanded.

"My throat- it's burning." I managed to say between ragged breaths. Sam grabbed my water and brought it to my lips, but it didn't help too much. _At least it's bearable now…_ I thought. Tucker and Sam were looking at me with concern again.

"Are you hurting, Danny?" Tucker asked. I nodded, and swallowed.

"I'm fine." I replied. Sam gave me an unreadable glance, before she asked

"Danny…did the thing- in the pentagram- did it say anything else at all?" I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate, but my throat was making it hard to do so.

"Um, I don't th- wait…he said something about irony. Other than that, he didn't really say anything else. He mostly laughed." At these words, Sam broke down and choked back a sob. Her hand flew to her face, and her shoulders were quivering. "Sam, what's wrong?" I asked. Tucker seemed confused too,

"Sam, it's not your fault I could've stopped Danny, heck, I also suggested that he go and-"

"That's not it!" She replied harshly. "I think I know what happened to Danny." My eyebrows scrunched together at this,

"What?" Sam looked me through tearstained eyes, and hesitated. Now, I had never seen Sam cry in my life. She was always so strong, and was brave no matter what. But at that moment, I knew I was seeing a side of Sam that no one had ever seen before.

"Danny…you've been Cursed."

"Cursed?" Tucker asked. "What do you mean?"

"Danny isn't human anymore! Don't you get it Tucker? That demon turned Danny into a vampire, the one thing his parents hate most." Tucker's eyes went wide, and I _heard_ his heart start hammering away. I could hear something that I knew I couldn't hear before the portal. And the sick part was that my throat began to burn even more when I thought about his pounding pulse.

"Sam, you- you can't be right, I mean- vampires don't exist!" I said.

"Danny, we didn't think magic or demons exist until today either." Her words hit me like a train, and my head started to ache.

"Wait- how do you know this though?" Tucker asked, "It could be something else!"

"Tucker, just look at him! He has red eyes, for Christ's sake! And his throat is burning, what do you think that means? He was _so_ cold Tucker, when I touched him. No human should ever be that cold." She broke off, and turned to me. "Oh my god Danny, I- I'm so sorry. I didn't know, I just- I'm so sorry!" She sobbed. "It's my fault, I should've been the one who got hurt." Her shoulders shook up and down, and the rest of her words were drowned out by her cries. Tucker tried to hug her, but she pushed him away. I shoved the covers off of me, and inched towards her. I hesitated, now knowing that I wasn't human, and that I was freezing. But I embraced her anyway, and this time she didn't object.

"It's ok," I whispered in her ear. "We'll figure this out. It wasn't your fault. It was my choice in the end, I could've said no. But I didn't, it's my fault and mine only, and now I'm paying for that. No one else should have to." Sam's sobs started to soften, and she gently pushed me away. As she did, I caught a whiff of the most delicious smell I had ever known. It filled my body with a feeling unknown to me, and my throat burned. When my gums started to ache, I scurried backwards.

"Danny, what happened?" She asked. I tried to say something, but then I felt a sharp pain in my tongue, and I clamped my hand over my mouth.

"Danny, let us see." Tucker pleaded. I shook my head no, and pushed myself even closer to the headboard.

"Danny…please" Sam asked. Her voice was so full of pain, that I couldn't resist. I slowly opened my mouth. Sam and Tucker's eyes both widened, and Tucker recoiled, but Sam moved towards me.

"What is it?" I asked, dread filling my body; I was pretty sure that I knew exactly what was there.

"Fangs." She answered. "Vampire fangs, oh God." Tucker opened his mouth slowly, as if he wasn't sure if he should ask something.

"Does that mean that, you know, you have to drink blood?" Sam smacked him behind his head, and despite the situation I laughed, which was hard to do with the fangs in the way.

"Tucker, you don't just ask things like that! And besides, why the hell would he have fangs? To drink milk?"

"Well, I wasn't sure!" He said, rubbing his head. "Ow, that hurt!" Sam ignored him and turned to me,

"Danny, do you…um, do you need to drink right now?" Her question caught me off guard.

"Uhh? Do I have to? Can I just, um, not?" I asked stupidly.

"Danny, it's not like Twilight. Vampires _need_ blood- human blood. If you need it now, we won't judge." She elbowed Tucker in the ribcage really hard, "Right, Tucker?"

"OW! I would've agreed anyways, you don't need to hurt me!"

"Well," I began, "My throat is really hurting, and I guess the fangs won't go away when I'm thirsty. And, umm, you guys kinda smell good right now." Tucker laughed, but when he saw my expression he realized I wasn't joking. Sam gave him a glare, before sitting next to me and holding out her wrist, where I could make out her throbbing veins.

"Sam, what are you doing?" She pushed her arm closer to my face.

"Go ahead, Danny. I know you need it, it's the least I can do. I don't mind."

"Sam!" I said startled, "We don't know what will happen; I might hurt you, or- Sam, if I bit you wouldn't that make _you_ a vampire?" Sam gave me a sad smile.

"No, you would have to give me some of your blood to drink. Besides, I _know_ you won't hurt me." She offered me her arm again.

"Sam, I just can't. It's not right, I won't-"

My mouthed clamped down onto her wrist, hard. Warm, sweet liquid began to fill my mouth, spilling down my throat, easing the agony. A shiver ran through my body, and I was vaguely aware of Sam and Tucker staring at me, but I kept going. The blood tasted so _good_, and though I was disgusted even while drinking it, some instinct deep inside me knew that I needed it. All the pain and grogginess of that day was washed away, and my head ceased its pounding. I began to feel Sam tugging her wrist, but I didn't let go.

"Danny, I think that's enough now." I wanted to keep drinking _so_ badly, but the rational part of my mind made me stop. Sam cradled her arm, and as soon as she did, a deep feeling of shame and regret settled over me.

"Oh god, Sam- I shouldn't have, did I hurt you?" She sighed,

"No, just a little tired now. Besides, I'm the one who hurt you." She whispered the next part. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have to. You'd be human."

"Danny, you might want to wipe your mouth, dude." Tucker said, breaking the tension, for which I was extremely grateful. I rubbed the back of my hand on my mouth, and wiped away the excess blood with my sleeve.

"Better?" I asked. Tucker looked taken aback,

"Yeah, but-"

"But what?"

"Dude, your eyes went back to blue!"

"He's right." Sam said. "That's odd, I don't think they're supposed to do that." I sighed in relief.

"Well, that makes things a lot easier, with my parents and all- OH MY GOD, MY PARENTS! What do I tell them? What do I do? What if they find out? They'll kill me!" Sam grabbed my arm,

"Danny, calm down! Just don't tell them anything for right now, until we figure this out. Why don't you just get some information from them, about the portal and vampires. While you do that, Tucker and I will also research. We'll see if we can reverse it."

"But what about blo-"

"I'll let you drink mine until we find a better solution."

"Sam, I can't do that!"

"It's fine, vampires don't feed three times a day like humans. I think you'll be fine if you drink once every other day." I tried to object again, but she silenced me.

"Danny, a lot is bound to change. You won't eat anymore, and you'll want to sleep during the day. You need to avoid anything your parents use to hunt vampires, and you should be careful with sunlight. At this point, we don't know what's legend and what's real, so we need to be wary of everything. The most important thing is that no matter what happens, you're still Danny, and we still love you." Tucker nodded his head in agreement.

"Sam…" I said. "I appreciate you guys so much, and-"

"Save it, dude. We already know. Now, if you don't mind, I think we should go to sleep now." Tucker answered.

I realized then that Sam and Tucker did seem to be drowsy.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"It's 1:43" Tucker said, looking at his watch. _Huh, _I thought, _I'm not tired. Must be a vampire thing_.

"Well, goodnight then." Tucker and Sam looked grateful, and they curled up in their sleeping bags on the floor. But while they slept, visions of blood and shadows played over and over in my mind, and I didn't get a second of sleep that night.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Danny, wake up!" Someone was shaking my shoulder, but I shrugged them off.

"Mmmm, lemme sleep a little longer." I slurred. Then they shoved me, and I fell to the floor.

"What the heck!" I grumbled, but I shut up when I saw it was Sam. "Oh, hello? Why're you making me wake up?"

"Danny, it's 2:30." She said, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, exactly! It's way too early."

"Danny, it's 2:30 in the afternoon." That confused me, there was no way that I slept that late.

"Huh? How on earth did I sleep in that long?" Sam sighed and sat on my bed,

"It's a part of being a vampire." _Vampire, what is she talking about_, I thought. But then everything from last night came flooding back into my mind, and I panicked. My eyes widened and I started to freak out, my body shaking. _I drank blood. I actually drank blood…I'm not human._

"Danny, are you ok?" I looked up at her, wondering what had gone through her mind when I was drinking from her. But then I remembered her and Tucker saying that they still loved me. _That's right, Danny. Calm down, they're your friends, they're not going anywhere_, I reminded myself.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said finally. "I guess it just sank in, that's all." She looked at me with a mix of pity and guilt, so I decided to change the topic.

"So…uh, my parents should be home now, why didn't they wake me up?"

"Oh, yeah, Tuck and I said you weren't feeling well. But we decided that we should go ahead and wake you up now, so we could talk to your parents. Speaking of that…Danny, do you intend to tell them? I mean, it doesn't have to be now." My face fell when she said those words, and I thought about it for a second. Hiding this from them was going to be hard, but I honestly couldn't trust that they'd be ok with it. I had spent my whole life raised by people who hated vampires. All I heard about them was that they were foul, evil beings. Inhuman. Monsters. And my parents were determined to kill them, and eradicate them from existence. Needless to say, it wasn't really a confidence booster to know that I was something that my parents despised more than anything in the world.

"Um…no, actually. I honestly don't think I could ever tell them. It's just...Sam, they hate me. I mean, they would if they knew. They might kill me! I know for a fact that they don't sympathize with vampires. I don't think they would even consider me their son anymore." Sam had an unreadable look on her face, but she nodded.

"Whatever you're comfortable with Danny. Tuck and I won't tell anyone without your permission."

"Ok." I said, exhaling. Sam give a little snort. "What?" I asked defensively.

"Danny, why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"You know, breathe."

"Um, don't you too?" Sam instantly blushed, like she just realized she said something she shouldn't have.

"Oh, you don't know. Danny, you don't have to breathe. You weren't doing it last night while you were passed out, or when you were sleeping just now."

"Huh. I guess it's just a habit." I exhaled, and then waited. Nothing. There was no pain in my chest, or urge for air. In fact, it felt a little more natural to not breath.

"You should probably breath, though." Said Sam, stopping my train of thought. "You know, that way no one notices anything.

"Yeah." I agreed. I started breathing again, but it felt awkward now that I knew I didn't need to.

"I guess we should go downstairs now." I suggested. Sam nodded, and I rolled out of bed, yawning.

"You sure you don't need to go back to sleep?" Sam asked.

"Nah, I'll wake up here in a second." She shrugged and we exited the room and headed downstairs. As we were walking down the stairs, Sam's clunky combat boots made a lot of noise, making me wince slightly. _I guess I'll have to get used to heightened senses too_, I thought.

We made it into the living room, where everyone was sitting.

"Dann-o! You're up!" My dad boomed. I cringed at his loud voice, but I smiled.

"Good morning."

"Are you feeling better, sweetie?" My mom asked.

"Yeah, just a little tired." She gave me a look of concern but didn't say anything. Sam elbowed me, and I gulped, dreading the following conversation. I sat down on the couch, with Sam following behind me. "So, uh, mom and dad…since we saw the portal last night, I was kinda of curious about how all of this works. Could you guys, I don't know, go over the basics of vampirism?" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jazz look up from her book and give me a look, like are you out of your mind?

"Of course!" My mom said. "What do you want to know?"

"Well uh…how is a vampire made?"

"Well that one is easy, there's two parts to becoming a vampire. A human must've been bit, and then at some point they must consume vampire blood. Then they would become one. It works like that so vampires can feed off humans without overpopulating. If a vampire was born after every feeding, there would be a lot more vampires in the world. Or they would start killing off people after they fed, but that's too noticeable."

"Ok…" I said. "Are you sure that there's no other ways to become a vampire?"

"Not really-"

"Actually!" my dad interrupted, "There is one!" Mom gave him an annoyed look.

"Jack, that's only one vampire, and even then it's most likely just a myth."

"No, tell me!" I said eagerly. My mom looked at me skeptically but she continued.

"Well, remember when we told you about Vladimir, the first vampire? Legend says that he became a vampire after making a deal with a demon. He supposedly wanted power, and the price was his soul. But the only reason this could be fact rather than fiction is that he couldn't have been Turned if there were no vampires to Turn him. Other than that, there's no evidence, so the accepted answer is that there's only one way."

"Ok, so what about blood? Why do they need it, and how often do they need it."

"Well," my dad answered, "There's a lot of theories about why they need it. Most likely it's because vampires are practically walking corpses, they don't breathe, their hearts don't beat, their body doesn't digest food at all, but they have to get their energy from somewhere. It's assumed that they drink blood from humans because they're drawing out the life force of the blood, and using that to survive."

"So they will die for sure if they don't drink?" Tucker chimed in.

"Yes," replied my mom. "But it'd be a very slow, painful death, since they're so resistant. In fact, back when everyone believed in vampires, people would tie an accused vampire up and leave them to starve, with no blood. It could months, and in some cases years, but the vampire would eventually waste away." Tucker and Sam's face mirrored the disgust on mine, but my parents didn't notice.

"Ok, well how often do they usually feed?" Sam asked.

"Hmmm, I'd say every few days." My mom said. "It depends on the vampire; some feed more frequently, some less." Sam nodded.

"Well, thank you Mr. and Mrs. Fenton that was very interesting." I turned and gave Sam a confused look, but she shook her head.

"Yeah thanks, I think we're gonna go to Danny's room and chill." Tucker added. I was confused but I followed them to my room anyways.

"Uhhh…" I said once we go there, "Why did you guys end the conversation?" Sam rolled her eyes,

"Danny, we can't them too much in one day that would be suspicious.'

"Right." I said.

"Besides," She continued, "I picked up a book this morning from the Skulk and Lurk that might help us." She walked over to her bag and pulled out a thick, old book. On the cover it read, _Vampires: A History by Frederich Isak Showenhower. _Sam opened up the book to a chapter.

"Here!" She said. She began to read, "Vampires possess many powers and abilities, some more gifted than others. All vampires have heightened senses of smell, hearing and sight. Vampires are also unnaturally strong, agile, fast and graceful. It is said that a vampire could walk on dead leaves, and not make a sound. This is so they can stalk their prey without alerting the prey of the vampire's presence. However, vampires can sense other vampires within a certain range. In addition to these basic abilities, vampires are able to do even more fascinating things. Vampires are able to manipulate a human's actions and thoughts, through the power of suggestion. However, as powerful as this gift can be, it very rarely works on other vampires. Furthermore, a human with a strong will can resist such influence.

Vampires are also able to "blend" with shadows, and can use this as a form of travel. One might enter in one shadow, and exit out another one in another place. However, this ability is extremely limited depending on the vampire, and only certain vampires can use it for an extended amount of time or distance.

Some powerful vampires are graced with extra gifts. These gifts vary in power and form, and no gift can belong to more than one vampire at a time. However, if a gifted vampire were to die, that gift can be passed to a newborn after the previous owner has died. Gifts are rare, and extremely dangerous. Some examples of a gift a vampire could have are manipulation of fire, telekinesis, levitation, etc." Sam closed the book and set it down. "So, you wanna try one of these?"

"Um, sure, but how do I do it?"

"I dunno, dude, in movies they usually just say to concentrate or tap into your inner self."

"Not helpful." I sighed. "But I guess I might as well try."

"Well, you should probably start with something simple." Sam said. "How's your hearing?"

"Well…I can hear my parents breathing downstairs. So I'd say it's pretty good. By the way, why do both of you have to wear boots? You guys walk _so_ loudly."

"Ok, showoff, what about smell?" Tucker asked. I took a deep whiff of the air, and then coughed.

"Eww, you need a shower dude."

"Hardy har har, you're so funny." Tucker said.

"Well it's true…anyways, Tucker, you had bacon and toast for breakfast, right? And Sam you had…you had oatmeal, with cinnamon."

"Danny you can smell all of that? We ate hours ago." Sam said, amazed.

"I know, I'm just as freaked out as you." I admitted.

"Well I think it's kinda cool!" Tucker said. Sam smiled,

"Yeah, think of all the things you could do now!"

"Yeah man, it's like you have superpowers!" Tucker exclaimed.

"I don't think being a vampire counts as having superpowers, Tuck." I said dryly.

"Ok, Danny, let's see what else you can do. Do you think you are gifted?" I shook my head,

"Nah, I don't think so, the book said only super powerful vampires could do that." Sam looked skeptical.

"I don't know Danny…think about it. Vladimir- who is supposedly one of the most powerful vampires of all time- was made the same way you were. For all we know, you two are the only vampires that became vampires through a curse, rather than being Turned. I'd say the odds are stacked in your favor."

"I guess…that's a lot to take in." I replied.

"It's worth a shot though." Tucker said. I nodded and shut my eyes, trying to focus. At first I was making no progress, but then Sam said,

"Danny, trust your instincts."

So I exhaled, and didn't draw in another breath, letting myself relax completely. Then, I got a vague feeling of what to do. I extended my arm, and opened my hand. I felt energy flow from my arm, and leave my palm. When I opened my eyes, Sam and Tucker were staring at me, so I looked down at my hand. There, sitting in the middle of my palm was chunk of jagged ice.

"Jesus!" I exclaimed, dropping the ice in surprise.

"Dude, that was amazing! Can you do it again?" Tucker asked excitedly.

"I guess…" I tried it again, this time with my eyes open, and watched as a delicate ice crystal formed in my palm.

"It's beautiful…" Sam whispered. I smiled, and dropped it into her hand.

"You can have it." I said. When it fell into her hand, it stayed there without melting.

"Thank you! Danny, maybe there's something good about this situation after all."

"Not to ruin your lovebird moment and all, but Danny your eyes are glowing red again." Sam looked at me, and nodded.

"Yeah they are, maybe they do that when your'e being vampire-ish, like when you're thirsty or if you use a power. Speaking of which, you should try the power of Suggestion next."

And so the rest of the day passed like that, with me discovering and practicing my new abilities, while Sam and Tucker watched and encouraged. We eventually huddled up together, like how we did back in elementary, and read the book together until Sam and Tucker passed out. After an hour of staying wide awake, I forced myself to go to sleep, and this time I had no nightmares.

_Maybe- just maybe- I can get through this. Maybe I'm not so cursed after all…_

AN: Yeah! 2 chapters in one week! Anyways, this was just kinda here so things are understood better. The next chapter is where the plot kicks in. So someone asked if this is DxS, and yes, it will be eventually. The reason I didn't say anything before is because I don't want this story to be overshadowed by that. I feel like there's a lot of great stories out there with potentially amazing plots that are ruined by excessive romance. But to answer the question, yes, it's DxS.

Anyways, I want to thank everyone who's read this, reviewed, followed or favorited, you guys keep me writing. If I ever get lazy, just call me out on it, and I'll get my butt into gear and write.

Also, in case you haven't noticed, I'm dropping serious hints everywhere in the first three chapters about what comes next. I've also made several little nods towards the show. Anyway, I'll stop talking now.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I awoke to a whooshing sound, only to have a pillow hit my face.

"Seriously?" I said crankily. "What time is it?" Sam walked up to me and retrieved the pillow.

"It's 10:30 and you need to get your lazy ass up." I groaned in response.

"10:30 is too early!" I whined. Sam just crossed her arms and set her jaw stubbornly.

"Danny, tomorrow is school, so you're going to have to get used to waking up during the day." I sighed knowing she was right, especially since we had all agreed that it'd be best to just try and keep everything as normal as possible.

"Fine."

"Besides, we have somewhere to go." She said eagerly.

"We do?" I asked, confused.

"Yeah! So it turns out that the Frederich guy who wrote that book is the ringmaster for Circus Gothica. The circus came to town Friday, and it leaves tomorrow morning, so I figured we could go talk to the guy."

"Well, that's really creepy." I said. Sam gave me a confused glance.

"What's creepy?"

"The fact that this circus happened to come to town the night we messed with the portal. It's quite the coincidence, right?" Sam pondered for a moment, before responding.

"Nah, I'd say it was just luck or…fate!" She finished in a dramatic voice.

"Saaaam, I'm being serious. Something seems off." She laughed,

"It's fine Danny. We don't have to tell the guy about you, we can just ask questions about his book, that wouldn't be suspicious." I shrugged, knowing I wouldn't win.

"I guess so. It can't hurt to try."

"That's the spirit!" She said, beaming. "Now hurry and get ready, we have a circus to get to!"

…

Tucker had met us at the corner of my street, and we had walked to the park, where the circus tent was set up. The first I noticed when we got there was that Circus Gothica was very…gothic. _That's why Sam was so excited, _I thought. The tent was black with red and green accents, and the people walking in were mostly teens with punk rock shirts and black skinny jeans. Sam looked ecstatic,

"These are my people." She sighed contently. Tucker on the other hand looked freaked out by the massive amounts of black hair dye and teen angst.

We made our way inside the tent, where we spotted two signs, one pointing to the stands, another pointing to another room. This sign read "Meet the Ringmaster!"

"Sweet!" Sam said, "That was easy." _A little too easy,_ I thought. We pushed back the purple curtain separating the room from the rest of the circus, and stepped inside. The room was dark, barely lit by dying candles. Sam and Tucker stumbled in the dark, but I could very clearly see the outline of everything in the room, including a man sitting in a leather chair. He rose to his feet when my eyes met his and reached for something on the table next to him. It was a match, which he struck and lit a lamp with. The room flooded with more light, and I blinked at the sudden change.  
"Oh, how rude of me! It looks like I have guests."

He was tall and thin, with a pale, gaunt face. He smiled, revealing yellow teeth.

"Hello children, I am Freakshow, the ringmaster of Circus Gothica. What is it that I may assist you with?" Tucker and I looked at each other nervously, but Sam came to the rescue.

"Actually, we came to ask you about your book, the one about vampires."

"Ahh, yes, I wrote that quite a while ago, but I promise to answer my best."

_This guy is being really polite…_

"Thank you, Mr. Frederich!"

"Oh please, that name is _so_ boring, call me Freakshow!"

"Ok, Freakshow…I- we read your book, and we found it very interesting. We were just wondering if there was anything else that you knew about vampires, or something you can expand on from the book." Freakshow gave a little chuckle, before replying.

"This wouldn't happen to be because your friend over here is a vampire?" He asked sweetly, gesturing to me. My eyes widened, and all three of us fell into a shocked silence. Sam was the first to break it,

"No! Yes, umm- wait how did you know!" I shot her a glare, _way to be smooth Sam._

Freakshow just laughed again, "Dear, I've been trained since birth on how to detect the signs of vampirism, and your friend is just _screaming_ vampire. Dare I say, he is quite powerful."

Finally the lump in my throat vanished, and I found my voice.

"Powerful, me?" I asked. He turned and looked at me, studying me head to toe.

"Well not just any vampire is Cursed." Tucker also seemed to find some words, and asked

"So how many vampires are Cursed?"

"Well, including your friend, two. And that is probably all there ever will be."

"Vladimir- the first vampire- he's the other one, correct?"

"Well of course!" Freakshow answered. "Although your friend has it worse, I doubt he asked for it, like Vladimir did."

"My name is Danny!" I said, angry that he continuously acted like I wasn't in the room. "And how the hell do you even know all this?" Freakshow smiled at my outburst, seemingly pleased at my anger.

"I was told by a very powerful demon, that's why I'm here, you see. I was visited by a demon, who told me that I must go to Amity Park and seek the Cursed. And here you are!" He ended with a grand sweep of his arms, a circus man through and through.

"And you just went along with what a demon said?!" Sam demanded. Freakshow laughed again, like we were a group of small children, hopelessly in over our heads, which sadly, wasn't too far off.

"My dear, demon does not instantly mean evil. You should know this! Demons are beings who channel dark magic, not evil magic. You must realize that we need dark magic, too much light blinds. And there's the matter of your friend- Danny was it?- now being a creature of immense dark power. You wouldn't go around calling him evil, would you?" Sam's faced flushed in shame, and she glanced at me, guilt swimming in her eyes. I shook my head, to say I wasn't hurt by her words, but she turned around before she could see.

"So…why did you need to seek out Danny?" Tucker asked. Freakshow turned and looked me straight in the eyes for the first time since we first walked in.

"Because Danny has a chance to regain his humanity."

"What!" I yelled, shocked. Freakshow laughed though,

"Oh don't get your hopes up, boy. You'll most likely fail and die. If I were you, I would just stay the way you are. Right now your potential is limitless, I don't understand why anyone would give that up." Freakshow sounded bitter, but I ignored it at the time.

"What do I have to do?"

"You would have to kill seven very powerful demons."

"Any seven demons?" Sam asked.

"No, you only wish it were that simple. Danny must kill _the_ seven demons- Lust, Envy, Sloth, Gluttony, Wrath, Greed and Pride." Then he turned to me, " And on top of that, if you do somehow manage to find and kill all seven, you would have to also kill and drink the blood of Vladimir, the first vampire. And I guarantee that you won't be able to do that, he's every bit as powerful as you potentially are, but he's ancient. He is the first vampire, and as such, knows more about them than anyone else in this world. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he was aware of your existence the moment you were reborn as a vampire."

We all were caught in stunned silence, and after what seemed like an eternity, I was the one to break it.

"I don't want to kill anyone."

"Well, that's ironic, coming from a being that lives of the life force of others." He joked harshly. He pissed me off, and I knew he enjoyed it, and when he started to cackle I knew my eyes had flashed red.

"Shut up." I said between clenched teeth.

"If you're that angry, kill me now. Otherwise, I'll talk as long as I want." My vision turned red and my head pounded in anger, but I refused to prove this guy right, so instead I swung my fist right into his eye, causing him to cease his annoying laughter.

"Sam, Tucker, let's go before I do anything I regret." I marched out of the tent, not waiting to see if they followed me. My hands had begun to shake, and I could feel the tips of fangs starting to emerge. I heard Sam and Tucker run towards me, following me out of the tent and into the park.

"Danny, are you okay?" Sam said. I turned and a _hiss_ escaped my throat. I was losing control fast, and they knew it. But Sam, being either brave or stupid, ran up to me despite my snarling and slapped me, right on the cheek.

"Danny, stop it! You're scaring us!" Her slap didn't hurt at all, but she had shocked me out of my rage.

"Sam? Did you just…slap me?" I asked bewildered.

And then I laughed, just a little at first, but then more, until I couldn't control the waves of laughter escaping my mouth. _I'm going freaking insane_, I thought. But then Sam and Tucker both joined in on the laughing, and I stopped.

"I'm sorry. I just…he-"

Sam cut me off. "It's fine, Danny. You just freaked us out for a second, that's all. I would've punched the bastard myself, if you hadn't beaten me to it."

"Speaking of that, dude, when did you learn to punch?" Tucker said.

"Oh, my parents made me and Jazz learn self-defense once, but I hated it. I don't like hurting people…or exercise." I added, trying to lighten the mood. We all started laughing again, but this time it was strained. I guess we all had just assumed that life could go on as normal, besides some blood every now and then, but we all just realized how wrong we were. I never had a violent bone in my body before. But Freakshow managed to trigger such violent feelings that I didn't know I had. There was a part of me that had wanted to kill him. And for right now we could pretend that we hadn't all just seen what we saw, but I knew that as soon as we got home we would have to face the undeniable truth- I wasn't Human Danny anymore. I am now something completely different, and we only saw a glimpse of what I truly was.

…

"So…are you going to do it?" Sam asked. We were all sitting on my bed watching Dead Teacher 4, but none of us were really paying attention to it.

"Yes." I said after a moment of hesitation.

"Danny don't think you have to prove anything, we're not judging you for punc-"

"it's not that, Sam." I said cutting her off, "But I was thinking about it, and there's one thing we've all avoided."

"And what's that?" Tucker asked warily.

"Immortality. Vampires live forever, they don't age. I don't age, not anymore. I don't want to be 15 forever. I don't want to stay the same while I watch my friends and family grow old and die. We need to stop putting this off, I know it's crossed all our minds. But now we have a possible solution, and I'm going to try it, or die trying."

Sam and Tucker didn't say anything else, but they didn't need to. Sam grabbed my hand and squeezed it, and I knew they would back me up on my decision. They would be by my side until either I died or they died, and I wouldn't let it be the latter. I wanted to be able to grow and change and _live_. Living without my loved ones would be the true curse of this whole ordeal. Not the blood, the anger or the hate, but the loneliness.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Today was the first day of school since the accident, and I was not happy. The morning had started with Jazz pushing me out of bed at 7, which was awful. The sun was streaming through my open blinds- courtesy of Jazz- making me flinch at the brightness. Sam had assured me that the sun shouldn't hurt me too much, that it would just be rather uncomfortable. She had left me with a bottle of sunscreen and the suggestion to not stay out in the sun too long. As comforting as that had been- which it really wasn't- we still never tested the whole 'sunscreen' theory, since it was cloudy when we went to see Freakshow.

As soon as that name had popped into my mind, my expression soured even more. _Today is going to suck…_Then I realized I had just made a vampire pun and I groaned. _Well, better get this over with_. I hopped off of the ground and made my way to my closet, pulling out the first shirt I touched, not caring enough to look at it. I pulled it over my head and headed to the bathroom to attempt to comb the mess that is my hair. When I reached the bathroom sink I was startled by my reflection.

Ever since I first saw my eyes the night of the accident, I had been avoiding mirrors. But today I finally let myself get a good look of what I had become. My face was pale as the moon, and it only served to make my black hair look even darker and my eyes bluer. It was a weird combination, and now it seemed to stick out more. My eyes were framed by some dark circles, but I wasn't sure if that was a side effect of staying awake during the day. I frowned before opening my mouth and staring at my teeth like a little kid who just lost a tooth. At first my teeth looked normal enough, but if I opened my mouth enough you could see the points of where my fangs were resting. _I guess Freakshow was right, I do look very obviously like a vampire._ I just prayed that my parents were too clueless to notice, but my mom had already asked me several times if I was feeling sick.

I sighed and began to somewhat tame my hair, but it still refused to sit flat. So I gave up and brushed my teeth before heading downstairs. Jazz was sitting at the table eating a bowl of cereal and reading the news, which looked ridiculous since she wasn't fifty-something and balding. I brushed by her causing her to shiver, and grabbed my bag and was about to exit the house when Jazz called back to me.

"Danny, aren't you hungry?" I shook my head and left without a word. Truth be told, I was starting to feel some hunger pains, but I chose to ignore it. As soon the door was shut, I smeared some of the sunscreen on my face and arms before placing a pair of old sunglasses on my eyes. Feeling a bit more protected, I started walking towards the stop sign where Sam and Tucker usually waited for me. Sure enough they were there, and waved at me while I ran to catch up.

"Hey, how're you feeling?" Sam asked politely.

"Hot." I replied grumpily. "Of all the months to be turned into a vampire, it just had to be May."

"Hey," Tucker said, "at least school will be over in a few weeks. Then you can just sit in your room and sleep all day in a dark, air-conditioned room!" I scowled at him,

"That sounds depressing." Although it did sound somewhat appealing, at least compared to this heat.

"Man, you sure are grumpy today." Sam tried teasing. I relaxed a little and realized that they were trying to keep things lighthearted.

"Yeah," I said, giving a smile "I guess I am. Sorry guys, I'll be nicer…I won't bite." I had added that at just the right time to make it as corny as possible. Sam and Tucker grinned at that.

"There's our Danny!" Tucker exclaimed. I gave a light chuckle and we began walking towards the school.

"So, is the sunscreen working?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I don't feel like I'm about to burst into flames, so that's a good sign." Tucker snickered and pointed to my glasses,

"Well aren't you cool? Where did those come from, the 70's?"

"Haha, aren't we funny?" I said, lightly shoving him. Only my shove sent him falling on his butt. "Oh, dude, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to push you that hard!" Sam laughed and watched as he tried to stand up, still rubbing his backside.

"Oh don't worry Danny, I think he deserved that. And I for one think the sunglasses look fine". She said smugly.

"Don't listen to her fashion advice Danny, she's goth!" Tucker warned, only to be knocked back onto his butt, this time by Sam…and not so accidentally. I laughed before helping him back to his feet. The rest of the walk to school was like that, just three friends joking with each other. It was nice after all the crap that happened yesterday. That was until we reached the school and I was hit by a wall of scents and noises.

I fell to my knees from the sheer force of my senses going haywire. In the corner of my vision I saw Sam and Tucker reach for me. In the jumble of noises, I heard a faint

"Danny, are you ok? Danny!" that sounded like Sam, but I wasn't sure. In the back of my mind, I knew that they were trying to help, but their voices only added to the confusion. I pressed my hands over my ears and growled between my teeth,

"Shut up!" I tried to concentrate on something other than the sounds, but it wasn't working. In the midst of the chaos, I felt a gentle hand on my back.

"Danny, come on, we need you to relax. I know it's loud, just block it out." Under her grip I relaxed a little. "Good, now just focus on my voice, block everything else out. That's right, it's fine, just listen to me." Her voice was gentle and soft, not like the shrill and pounding noise coming from everywhere else. I relaxed even more as the flood of sounds became more tolerable. After a few minutes, I had managed to block most of the sound out, and I heard was Sam's soft voice and the comforting sound of her heartbeat. My stomach growled a little, but I ignored it; this was not the time or place.

I lowered my hands and rose to my feet. Sam patted me on the back. "Is it better now?" She asked, I nodded and looked around at the crowd that had gathered around us.

"What are you looking at? I have a migraine!" I said defensively. The crowd began to dissipate and head back towards the school.

"What happened?" Tucker asked.

"Everything was so loud, I couldn't focus on anything. There was too many voices and sounds and smells." I answered, embarrassed. Sam gave me a concerned glance before replying.

"Well, you should be fine if you just learn to ignore it." _Easier said than done, _I thought, my head still aching.

"Come on, we're going to be late." I said. I hurried up the steps and into the school, Sam and Tucker following close behind. Luckily, all three of us shared first period. Class went by well enough except for a few times that I fell asleep, much to the chagrin to Mr. Lancer. The next couple of periods were also a lot easier than what I had anticipated, and before I knew it, it was time for lunch.

We all sat at our usual table, the one that the other kids tended to stay away from. Sam pulled out something that looked like grass on a bun, while Tucker sat with a tray piled high with mystery meat from the cafeteria. I just sat watching them eat and bicker over what food was superior. To be honest, it was rather awkward to just sit there without any food. _I really hope that no one notices._ I rolled my eyes when Tucker said something how Sam was a plant killer. I twirled my fork absent mindedly, drowning their argument out.

While I had gotten used to all the noise since this morning, the cafeteria was louder than the halls and classrooms. I gave a little groan when some kid decided to laugh obnoxiously loud.

"Danny?" Sam said, pulling my attention back to the table.

"Yeah, sorry, I sorta blanked out there for a sec." She gave me a reassuring smile and placed her hand on my arm. Her touch was comforting and warm, in fact, I could feel the veins pounding in her hand. Suddenly I felt my fangs snap out, and I jerked away from her.

"What's wrong?" She asked, hurt.

"It's not you," I said with difficulty, "I'm uhhh…" I trailed off, but her and Tucker seemed to notice the fangs.

"Dude!" Tucker said frantically, "Your eyes!"

"Crap!" I said, realizing that they were probably red now. I plunged my hand into my bag and pulled out my sunglasses, and put them on.

"Danny are you thirsty? It's been a few days now, do you need to feed?" Sam asked. I shook my head,

"No, no, no! Not here! I can wait" I urged.

"Danny, you clearly can't, you can't just walk around the rest of the day with your eyes red and fangs out!" Tucker said.

"He's right, Danny. I don't mind, we can just find somewhere private and do it." Tucker started snickering, and Sam turned and shoved him out of his seat. "Tucker, now is NOT the time!" She said angrily.

"I guess…" I said reluctantly. She stood up, lunch forgotten, and started leading me out of the cafeteria. We exited the doors and into the hall, where she looked around before pulling me into the janitor's closet.

"Ummm, Sam, this is a really stereotypical place to hide."

"Danny, just shut up and close the door." She commanded. I shrugged and closed the door before turning to face her. She took a step towards me and held her wrist out. "Go ahead."

I grabbed her wrist, and gently bit it, but as soon as the sweet blood rolled into my mouth, I clamped down harder. I began taking mouthfuls of the warm liquid, shivering as it slid down my burning throat. With each drop, a wave of energy shot through my body, easing the tension and fatigue from the past few nights. As soon as Sam started tugging away, I let go of her arm. I wiped my mouth clean and looked away, guilty and embarrassed.

"Sam, I'm sorry. I don't want to do it I swear, I'm sorry that-"

"Danny." She said, cutting me off. "I want to clear some things up, and now that Tucker isn't here, I think this is a good time.

"Uhuh…"I said unsure.

"Well…you know Tucker and I love you right? I need you to know that." I nodded my head and she sighed before going on. "Danny, this is all my fault, and don't you dare object!" She said when I had begun to protest. "If Tucker was here he'd blame himself, but it's all on me. I was the one who told you to step in the pentagram. I mean, you even asked me if it would be fine, and I said yes. It was my stupid mistake, and you're the one who's having to pay. And honestly, you drinking my blood…that's nothing. I have to make it up for you somehow, and this is the only way I can. I know, it's a shitty way to do that, considering you wouldn't need blood if it weren't for me." She looked me straight in the eyes and grabbed my hands, which would've made my heart flutter, if it still beat.

"Danny I can never take back what I did. I should've been the one to get Cursed not you. I don't want you to suffer, it's so unfair! You can pretend and laugh it off all you want, but I need to know, how do you really feel about all this? Please be honest with me." She begged. I turned my head away and ran a hand though my hair.

"You want me to be completely honest? Well…I honestly don't blame you or Tucker. But as far as being a vampire, I'm scared. I'm so scared, Sam, I don't know what to do. I can't go around people without my stomach growling, I don't feel safe around my own family, and I just know that one day they'll find out. And what then? They hate vampires, they'd stake me right on the spot. To them a person's not a human anymore once they've become a vampire. And you know what? It's true, I'm not human, not anymore. I don't eat, I drink blood; human blood! Even right now I want more, even though I know that'd be taking too much." It was true, even though I had taken quite a bit, I was still slightly hungry. I was actually always slightly hungry, and I could tell that I wasn't getting quite enough to drink.

"Sam…I don't know if I'm even the old Danny still. The old Danny would have never punched someone, the old Danny couldn't send a person flying to the ground with one shove. He can't make ice, he can't hypnotize people, his eyes were blue _all_ the time, he had a heartbeat. The old Danny was human…and I'm not. I probably will never be. I mean, who are we kidding? There's no way I would be able to kill the Seven Demons _and_ Vladimir."

"But Danny, Freakshow said you're powerful and-"

"I don't _want_ to be powerful!" I snapped. "I don't want to kill people, demon or not. I want to be human Danny, clumsy, gentle, clueless, dorky Danny!" I finally finished my rant, and I turned away from her, ashamed at the way I probably just hurt her. She grabbed my shoulder and gently spun me around, placing a hand on my face.

"You're still Danny. Danny is you, maybe you're not biologically human, but you _feel_ like a human. You have emotions, wants, needs, desires, fears and insecurities. Being human isn't about having a heartbeat or a pulse, it's about feeling. Besides," She gave a soft laugh, running her thumb down my cheek to my chin. "You're still a clueless dork." I let the faintest of smiles show, before pushing a piece of her hair behind her ear.

"Sorry, that was bugging me." I said sheepishly. She blushed a deep red, which in turn made me want to blush as well, although that was an impossibility now. "Sam…I don't know what's going to happen. The future is one big mystery to me, and I don't know what's coming next, or if I'll get through it. But…I don't want to have any regrets-"

"Danny, don't talk like that!"

"It's true though. But my point is…" I trailed off for a second, before taking a deep breath. "Sam, we've been friends for a while now, like really good friends. You and Tucker both! And…uh, you're a female, and uh…"

"Gee, thanks for noticing, Danny." She replied dryly.

"No, that's not what I meant! Well, no I do mean that you're a female, and umm…Tucker and you are both great, but umm, he's a different kind of friend, he's a male. So what I'm trying to say is…I like you. and I'd like to umm, try and be more than friends." Sam's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "Umm, ok, well if you don't want-'

'NO! Danny, I…I like you too. I mean, wow, yeah!" She blushed even more, and I resisted the urge to laugh.

"So…does this mean we're dating now?" I asked.

"I guess so. Wow, Danny, how long have you felt this way? Why didn't you say anything?"

"Well why didn't you say anything?" I demanded back. She laughed, causing the strand of hair to fall in her face again.

"Fair point…I was scared that you wouldn't feel the same way and it would ruin our friendship."

"Yeah, same." I stepped forward and pushed the strand of hair back behind her ear, this time leaning in close. Her sweet smell filled my nose, and the sound of the blood rushing to her cheeks made my throat burn, but I ignored it. Instead I put all of my focus into kissing her soft lips, and was beyond joyful when she returned the kiss. The whole stress of our conversation melted away, and the kiss drove the bad feelings away even better than the blood did._ I can only imagine what Tucker is going to say…_

AN: this is soooo freaking late, and I don't even have an excuse this time. I was lazy and couldn't find the motivation or concentration to write this. I would write a few sentences, and then not touch the story for like, a week.

Ok, so originally the chapter was going to just end with Danny and Sam returning back to the table, and then school would go on as usual. But I decided that in the situation, Danny would take the opportunity to admit his feelings, like what happened in Phantom Planet. Plus, I decided I should give the poor guy some kind of break, because I plan on some major angst in the not-too-distant future.

So I estimate, not entirely sure yet, that this will be around 15-20 chapters. Depending on what I do for the ending (I'm deciding between two endings) I might write a sequel, but only if you guys want me too.

So anyways, as always, reviews are much appreciated. Tell me what you thought about Danny admitting his feelings, good or bad?


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